Devils Never Cry
by silversinkingdestiny
Summary: Dante reminisces about the only time anyone has ever called him out on one of his more favorite sayings. A slightly fluffy bit of Dante/Leon.


_Devils never cry_

That's what I've always told everyone, right? Lady, Trish...I've given them all the same story. Hell, at one point I started believing it myself. It was easier that way. Crying...seemed like such a weakness, a way for people to get in. It was easier to protect myself, distance myself from other people, protect _them_. If I kept my emotions out of the spotlight, I could act like I didn't have any. So that's what I told others. Devil's never cry. I'd tell anyone this, human and demon alike, and they'd just accept it.

Except for him.

He was kind of thrown into my life, just like just about everyone else I'd ever met, but he was different. I wasn't sure of how at first, but when he showed up in my office, claiming to work for the US government, saying they wanted my help, I could tell he wasn't your average human. Maybe that's why I agreed. I tried convincing myself that it was just the money the government was offering me to help take care of their little zombie problem at first, that it was a way to finally get Lady off my back for all the money I owed her, but in hindsight...maybe that wasn't the reason. Who the hell am I kidding? I know that wasn't the reason.

That night...it was raining. I don't know why I remember that most of all, but it kind of sticks with me. I remember how cold it was. We were being sent in to neutralize the small horde of infected that'd cropped up. I figured it was no problem. Head out, shoot some zombies, and get back to the office in time for pizza. Of course, I should have known that nothing is ever that simple. You'd think by now I'd learn.

Parts of this city...they're falling apart. And of course the place where the horde started was in an abandoned warehouse. It looked like the remnants of the Umbrella corporation thought it was a prime spot to work in, a place to work in secret. After all, who the hell would come looking for them in a place like this?

Little did we know that they'd been planning for us to get there. Usually I'm good at realizing when I'm being played, but I gotta admit, I know more about demons than I do about the mess that was created back in 1998, aside from a couple news reports that I only half paid attention to while sitting at my desk, waiting for a call. Seems they knew we were on our way, that the government had been watching them.

We took care of the zombies, no problem. Those things are slow, stupid, and a well-placed headshot usually takes them down. It was no sweat. Well, no sweat until the C4 that was so carefully placed around the joint went off, throwing us in two different directions. I could handle that. I mean, I've been impaled on my own sword more times than I can count. Being slammed into a wall is a minor pain at best. But when I got up, I couldn't find him. All the dust and debris mixed with the rain, and I couldn't see a damn thing. Between you and me, I'd never been that scared in my life. Usually I'm pretty good at hiding that kind of thing. I'm not one to panic. But when I called his name and he didn't answer...I don't know. Something happened to me. I searched the debris, around me, rain leaking in through the rubble. I found nothing. Not a damn thing.

I remember the rain coming to a slow, calling his name again. To be honest, it felt a bit like I was starting to unravel on the inside. All I could think of was how I let it happen again. Another human I'd come to actually give a damn about, and they died because I wasn't careful. Because I couldn't protect them.

Eventually I just stopped. With the collapsed building around me, I knew there was about no damn way I'd find him on my own without some kind of rescue crew. I may be half demon, but I'm not freaking superman. The rain started to stop, and for a moment, all I could hear was the water dripping off the broken concrete and metal, until I thought I heard his voice calling me.

Thought. I tried to ignore it at first. You know how sometimes your brain plays tricks on you at the worst moment possible? Well, I don't freaking know if yours does, but sometimes I swear mine does. So I closed my eyes and tried to shut it out. But his voice got louder, and I pretty much _had_ to open my eyes, seeing him climb over the rubble like he'd been doing that all his life.

If I have one thing to say about him, it's that Leon S. Kennedy is one hard son of a bitch to kill.

He looked pretty banged up, but damn if he wasn't a sight for sore eyes. And I admit, I was pretty relieved to see him on his feet. However, he approached me with an expression I couldn't quite read as he got close. Before I knew it, he was close enough to me that I swear to whoever that I could hear his heartbeat.

"You okay?" He asked, looking just about as relieved to see me standing as I was to see him. He then paused for a moment and gave me this look I couldn't read, studying my face like it was a damn book. "...Were you crying?"

At first I was inclined to ask him what the hell he was talking about, reaching for my face and finding a couple wet tear tracks clinging to my skin. And, really, they were too new to be from the rain. I guess I had been a little...hadn't realized it. At least, not completely, anyway.

Of course, I didn't need to tell _him_ that, right? I looked away, like that was going to change the subject. "It was just the rain."

I mean, I had to try and push him away. He was just going to get hurt otherwise, right? The things and people after me don't exactly got what most would call a "moral code" going for them. They'd do anything to get at the son of Sparda, and they'd definitely go after him to get to me. Easy. He had to stay away. Right? I finally stepped back and turned away, starting to look for an exit out of that hellhole.

"Besides...devils never cry. Tears are a luxury only humans can afford anyway..."

I was about to walk away. I mean, he was banged up and I was figuring he'd just accept what I said (he knew the story about my half demonic background from government reports and...Trish, I'm guessing) and just follow me out of there so we could look into finding at least some first aid for him...

Instead, he stopped right where he was, saying one word that stopped me in my own tracks.

"Bullshit."

Excuse me? I think I'd know something about this. I looked over my shoulder. I can't remember what I was going to tell him at this point. That I knew more about this than he did? That he should stick to killing zombies and let me handle how devils are supposed to feel? I don't know because honestly, even if I _had_ wanted to say something, it wouldn't come out. Part of me was shocked that someone had stood up to me saying that in the first place. Trish hadn't. Lady...kind of just accepted it, insisting that there had to be an exception for loved ones. But here Leon was, flat out telling me that this idea was bullshit. I honestly had no idea of what to feel.

So I didn't feel anything for the moment. I just looked at him out of the corner of my eye, steel blue eyes staring back at me with this look. I couldn't really read it, but if I had to guess, was somewhere between "Stop feeding me this line of crap" and "I give a fuck about you, you know."

Really, I guess it didn't matter if I had anything to say or not because he started talking again. "Yeah, okay. So you're half demon. I get it. Trish told me about it when I was asked to pull you into this mess. But...you're part human too. Does one part override the other? Or do you just say shit like that to make sure no one can get close to you?"

Shit. Can't say he didn't hit the nail on the head there. I slowly turned around facing him again, but I didn't say anything. Hell, what was there to say? Not only was he just about the only goddamn person on this planet that had my number, but...I couldn't stop focusing one one specific part of that statement.

_You're part human too._

Sometimes that shit is easy to forget. Even for me. But...he hadn't.

"I'm in danger all the time. That's been my life since 1998. I don't need you to protect me from whatever you think is going to happen if I get too close. _I can take care of myself._ You're not protecting me by saying crap like that, especially when I don't buy it." He just kept making it more and more difficult to come up with a smartass comeback or to make light of the situation. I used to tell him he was too serious for his own good sometimes, but I guess right then, he had a right to be. He wasn't just speaking his mind here.

Finally, I managed to give him a reply. "So...what do you want me to say?"

Never said it was a good one.

"You don't have to say anything." He replied quietly. And yeah, that sounds dismissive, but the way he said it...wasn't. I'm not good at describing that kind of thing, so you're just gonna have to trust me on that. He wasn't just brushing me off.

What happened next...well, let's just say I hope my brother owns a nice pair of ice skates, because I'm certain hell froze over just from that. It was almost like I didn't control myself anymore. You know how people sometimes talk about being outside their body watching themselves do something? I watched myself slowly cross back over the rubble to Leon, wrap my arms around him, and hold onto him like I was holding on for dear life.

He was surprised for a second, but before I realized the gravity of everything that'd just happened, I could feel him wrapping his arms around me in return. He didn't say a word and neither did I. I guess for that moment...we didn't need them.

Moments passed, but they kinda felt like hours. I guess I just...didn't want to let him go. Instead, I just continued to hold him tight. I couldn't help but kind of laugh at the situation. "When the hell did you have me all figured out?"

"Couple missions ago." He replied, laughing a little himself. Fucking smartass. Then again, I guess that's just another reason on a long list of why I like him so damn much.

I managed to pry myself off him, pulling back to look at him for a second. Again, neither of us say anything, and I found myself touching his face, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He gives me another look I can't exactly read...affection? I don't know. I've gone without it so damn long, I can't remember what the hell it looks like. All I know is that it's an expression that looks pretty damn good on him.

"What do you say to us getting the hell out of here?" I ask, knowing he's probably thinking some of the same things I am. He usually is. And really, as nice as that little moment we were having was, it was cold, wet, and we were still standing in the middle of a building that had pretty much imploded.

He gives me a smirk. Damned if that doesn't look good on him too. "I was thinking you'd never ask."

I didn't say a word, just returned his smirk, leading him out of that hole left behind by Umbrella, back toward my office where it was actually a lot warmer, and I could help him get patched up. However, as we left that mess of rubble behind us for someone else (most likely the US government) to clean up, I couldn't help but think...

I may be half demon, and maybe demons don't cry, but the other half of me is human. Maybe that oughta count for something.


End file.
